Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 16 May.

China, US agree to lower tariffs by 14 May for 90 days
The US and China have agreed to de-escalate trade war with sharp cuts on tariffs by 14 May 2025, for an initial period of three months, according to a joint statement issued on Monday by the world’s two biggest economies.

US chem shares surge on tariff pause
US-listed shares of chemical companies surged on Monday after the US and China agreed to a 90-day pause on the tariffs they imposed on each other since 2 April.

INSIGHT: US-China 90-day pause a huge relief for US chemicals, to catalyze strategic rethinking
The US-China agreement to substantially take down tariffs during a 90-day pause while negotiations on a trade deal resume is a big relief for US chemicals and plastics producers, especially those with meaningful exports to China.

Canada’s Alberta province freezes industrial carbon price, cites US tariffs
The government of Canada’s oil-rich Alberta is freezing the province’s industrial carbon price at Canadian dollar (C$) 95/tonne ($68/tonne).

INSIGHT: US propane poised for China return on sharp cuts in bilateral tariffs
High-level trade talks between the US and China on 12 May have yielded significant reduction in the level of newly imposed tariffs by both sides, boding well for operating rates at Chinese propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plants.

INSIGHT: Brazil’s Lula visit to China bears fruit with multi-billion deals
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had already got several investment deals in the bag midway through his five-day state visit to China – among others, Envision Group has committed $1.0 billion in Latin America’s largest economy to produce sugarcane-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Saudi Aramco, US companies sign deals worth $90 billion
Saudi energy and chemical giant Saudi Aramco has signed 34 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements potentially worth about $90 billion in total, with major US companies.

INSIGHT: US auto, metal tariffs persist, threaten chem demand
The tariff deal that the US has reached with China did not eliminate the duties on steel, aluminium and auto parts, all of which could lower automobile production and reduce demand for the plastics and chemicals used to make the vehicles.

Texas firms expect partial but swift pass through of tariff costs
Businesses in the chemical-heavy US state of Texas expect a partial but swift pass through of the costs they expect to bear from the nation’s tariffs, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said on Friday.